New Mexico State Road 68
# New Mexico State Road 68

New Mexico State Road 68 (NM 68) is a 45.513-mile-long (73.246 km) state highway in northern New Mexico, in the Southwestern United States. NM 68 is known as the "River Road to Taos", as its route follows the Rio Grande. A parallel route to the east is NM 76, which is called the "High Road to Taos".

## Route description

NM 68 begins in the south in Española at the road's junction with U.S. Route 285 and U.S. Route 84 which run concurrently at that point. The road then runs northeast through Alcalde, Velarde, Embudo, and Ranchos de Taos, where it meets the north end of New Mexico State Road 518, before reaching its northern terminus at U.S. Route 64 in Taos.

Between Española and Velarde, State Road 68 is a four-lane divided highway with a 60-mile-per-hour (95 km/h) speed limit (with a 55 mph [90 km/h] limit as it nears Velarde and 45 mph [70 km/h] limit through Velarde); between Velarde and Taos, Highway 68 is a two-lane highway with very few passing lanes.

## Future

Several plans involve safety improvements on NM 68 at its intersection with US 64.

## Major intersections

| County | Location | mi | km | Destinations | Notes |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Rio Arriba | Española | 0.000 | 0.000 | US 84 / US 285 (Santa Clara Bridge Road / Riverside Drive) – Tierra Amarilla, Santa Fe, Antonito, CO | Southern terminus |
| Rio Arriba | Española | 0.741 | 1.193 | NM 76 east (Santa Cruz Road) – Chimayo | Western terminus of NM 76 |
| Rio Arriba | Española | 1.491 | 2.400 | NM 583 east / NM 584 west (Fairview Lane) | Western terminus of NM 583, eastern terminus of NM 584 |
| Rio Arriba | Española | 2.756 | 4.435 | NM 291 south (El Llano Road) | Northern terminus of NM 291 |
| Rio Arriba | Ohkay Owingeh | 4.088 | 6.579 | NM 74 west – Hernandez | Eastern terminus of NM 74 |
| Rio Arriba | Embudo | 20.818 | 33.503 | NM 75 east – Dixon | Western terminus of NM 75 |
| Taos | Pilar | 29.028 | 46.716 | NM 570 north | Southern terminus of NM 570 |
| Taos | El Llano | 39.450 | 63.489 | NM 570 south | Northern terminus of NM 570 |
| Taos | Ranchos de Taos | 41.676 | 67.071 | NM 240 north | Southern terminus of NM 240 |
| Taos | Ranchos de Taos | 41.982 | 67.563 | NM 518 south – Tres Ritos | Northern terminus of NM 518 |
| Taos | Taos | 43.385 | 69.821 | NM 585 west (Paseo del Canon) | Eastern terminus of NM 585 |
| Taos | Taos | 45.383 | 73.037 | NM 240 south (Ranchitos Road) | Northern terminus of NM 240 |
| Taos | Taos | 45.513 | 73.246 | US 64 – Tierra Amarilla, Raton | Northern terminus |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi ||||||
